Port of Kolkata
| Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port | |
|---|---|
Container ship MV Chana Bhum berthed at Berth No. 3 of Netaji Subhas Dock | |
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Native name | কলকাতা বন্দর |
| Location | |
| Country | India |
| Location | Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Coordinates | 22°32′46″N 88°18′53″E / 22.54611°N 88.31472°E |
| UN/LOCODE | INCCU |
| Details | |
| Opened | 1870 |
| Operated by | Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port Authority |
| Owned by | Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port Authority, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Government of India |
| Type of harbour | Coastal breakwater, riverine, large seaport |
| Size | 4,500 acres (18 km2) |
| No. of berths | 34 (Kolkata) 17 (Haldia) |
| No. of wharfs | 86 |
| Draft depth | Kolkata: 8.5 metres (28 ft) Haldia: 9 metres (30 ft) |
| Employees | 3,600 |
| Main trades | Automobiles, motorcycles and general industrial cargo including iron ore, granite, coal, fertilizers, petroleum products, and containers Major exports: Iron ore, leather, cotton textiles Major imports: Wheat, raw cotton, machinery, iron & steel |
| Stacking area | 134722 sqm |
| Water depth | 12.5 metres (41 ft) (KDS and HDC) |
| Statistics | |
| Vessel arrivals | 3263 (2023–24) |
| Annual cargo tonnage | 66.445 million tonnes(2023–24) |
| Annual container volume | 752,825 TEUs (2023–24) |
| Passenger traffic | 1,310 (2023–24) |
| Annual revenue | ₹3,227.67 crore (US$380 million) (2023–24) |
| Net income | ₹501.73 crore (US$59 million) (2023–24) |
| Website www | |
The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SPMP or SMP, Kolkata), formerly the Kolkata Port, is the only riverine major port in India, in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, around 203 kilometres (126 mi) from the sea. It is the oldest operating port in India and was constructed by the British East India Company. Kolkata is a freshwater port with no variation in salinity. The port has two distinct dock systems – Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock Complex.
In the 19th century, the Kolkata Port was the premier port in British India. From 1838 to 1917, the British used this port to ship off over half a million Indians from all over India – mostly from the Bhojpur and Awadh — and take them to places across the world, such as Latin America and Africa as indentured labourers. After independence, the port's importance decreased because of factors including the Partition of Bengal (1947), reduction in the size of the port hinterland, and economic stagnation in eastern India.
It has a vast hinterland comprising the entire North East of India including West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, North East Hill States and two landlocked neighbouring countries namely, Nepal and Bhutan and also the Autonomous Region of Tibet (China). With the turn of the 21st century, the volume of throughput has again started increasing steadily. As of March 2018, the port is capable of processing annually 650,000 containers, mostly from Nepal, Bhutan, and India's northeastern states.